After prospering in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, America s great urban centers faced economic, demographic, and political decline during the depression of the 1930s When the Second World War brought economic recovery, politicians and planners of the 1940s confidently anticipated a new golden age for big cities But the postwar boom never came, and urban AAfter prospering in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, America s great urban centers faced economic, demographic, and political decline during the depression of the 1930s When the Second World War brought economic recovery, politicians and planners of the 1940s confidently anticipated a new golden age for big cities But the postwar boom never came, and urban America has been waiting for the renaissance ever since In The Rough Road to Renaissance, Jon C Teaford describes efforts in twelve older central cities in the Northeast and Midwest to achieve revitalization during the period from 1940 to 1985 Focusing on the view from City Hall rather than on state or federal perspectives, Teaford explores the changing trends in city politics and municipal finance as well as the policies that pursued the elusive goal of urban renaissance He also considers the environmental, transportation, rehabilitation, and reconstruction programs undertaken to create better cities and to close the widening competitive gap with suburbia In the early fifties, Teaford explains, big cities were planning for a bright future Crosstown highways, low income highrises, and vigorous demolition drastically altered the urban landscape and confidently anticipated new development But the automobile culture was already derailing urban renewal as city dwellers sought the good life in the suburbs By the late sixties, rising crime, racial tension, labor militancy, and a wave of abandonment seemed to offer further evidence of impending urban demise Yet in the 1980s, messiah mayors and visionary planners boosted the hopes and morale of urban residents Once again there was talk of renaissance, but beneath the facade of revival serious problems persisted In The Rough Road to Renaissance, Jon Teaford tells a story that residents of Boston, Minneapolis, Chicago, New York, St Louis, and other famous urban centers will recognize a story that is still being written

Jon C. Teaford

Jon C Teaford is Professor Emeritus in the department of history at Purdue University.

Commentaires:

Frank Stein

A fantastic overview of post-World War II American cities. Teaford challenges a lot of assumptions about revitalization efforts that have become part of the conventional wisdom and that unfortunately still shape the way urban projects are planned.For one he shows that the supposed flood of federal money for "Urban Renewal" contained the 1949 Housing Act never materialized, and that most renewal activities involving eminent domain and site clearance were paid for and conducted by local cities at [...]

A little too much on the academic side for my taste, but a good summary analysis of the problems cities have been struggling with for decades and the various gimmicks mayors and others have cooked up to revive them. The author examines 12 cities in the midwest/northeast, including Cleveland, Buffalo, Pgh, Detroit, Baltimore, Cinci and others. It ends in 1985 though, I wish it had gone a little bit further into the present era.